Razor blade knife



me 9, 1936.I l F1 @um 2,043,594

RAZOR BLADE KNIFE Filed July i9, 1934 www" Patented `lune 9, 1936VUNITI/31D PATENT OFFICE 2,()43,594 RAZOR BLADE KNIFE `FrankJulus'Quist, Holden, Mass.

Application July '19, '1934, Serial No. 736,056

. 1 Claim.

This invention relates lto a knifefof 'the Vjack knife typenomprising'avblade holderadapted to be provided witha blade formed' from a safetyrazor blade.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a neat; simpleandinexpensive holder to which arazor blade, formed from the usual typeof double edged exible blade, can be inserted very readily to serve asthe blade'of the knife; to pro- `videsimple meansfor holding the bladeholder in its extended operative position or at leastfor affording asufficient resistance to prevent the accidental shuttingof thebladehlder; to provide a handle of sheet metal of sulicient strength forthe ordinary purposes and yet'thin, light and neat; to provide a pivotedblade holderl With a construction such that the blade can be used forordinary whittlingoperations and therewill be no chance for the shavingsto get caughtin the holder; to provide the holder'in suchform as toholdthe exible blade inV arigid condition along a line fromone end to theother; toprovide the holder with simple and effective means foraccurately holdingtheblade in position after it has once been inserted,and to provide the handle with integral means-for usetin breaking adouble edged flexible safety razorllladev totrim it to any desiredshape; or make two cutting blades out of it, whichmeans willfconstitutea part of the handle and not` materially increase the length of thehandleand also'will'serve to receive the end.`

of a flexible blade when"`the\blade is enclosed within the handle.

Other objectsl and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a'knifelconstructed in accordance with `thisinvention with a cutting blade in position and showing an' ordinary'safety razor blade in positionto becut in Atwo at one end;

Fig. 2 is an edge View 'of the 'samefwith the blade open;

Fig. 3 is an end view showing thebreaking in two of a doubleedgedrazorblade;

Fig; 4 is aside view showing :the trimr'ning off of a corner of a blade;

Fig. 5 is a' side viewof'the blade with itsfholder partly in section;

Fig. 6" is anledge view of the blade holder as indicated by the arrow 6in Fig. 5;

Figs. '7 and 8 are opposite end views as indif cated respectively by thearrows 'I and 8 of Fig. 5, and

single' edged razor blade in a holder to provide` a Yknife of the jackknife ltype but that would not involve anymeans'for usingfthe flexibleblades having two edges.

This invention is designed to make two'blades out of an ordinary doubleedged safety razor bla-de and to provide means for trimming it 'to suchshape as may be desired for the purpose intended. Razor blades of thistype of different manufacturers have certain features in common. Theyare perforated along the center to enable them to fit inthe holders, forwhich they are provided, and some of them to t holders of severaldifferent types. This invention when embodied in a definite' shape willaccommodate the blades of several diiferent makes'because of thisfeature.

A knife constructed in accordance with this invention is capable ofinnumerableuses. rEither a new or used razor blade can be used and, inthe former case, the blade is still a razor blade and the knife can 'beused for the shaving of the scalp or other parts of the body preparatoryto surgical operations or the like. As the whole device is metal it canbe sterilized very easily and used for certain types of surgicaloperations and it can be used for ripping by tailors and dressmakers. Itcan be used even fora heavy cutting operation because the destruction ofthe blade is a small matter, as a new onecan be substituted for it withvery little effort and at' practically no expense. It can be used forwhittling wood` or other soft material. The holder forfthe blade isespecially constructed to facilitate the operation of whittling.

This knife is made` with a handle formed of sheet' metal doubled onitself Withthe two sides I0 spaced apart. The open blade end of thishandle is cut square across and springs II are formed on opposite sidesby means of slits I2 to hold the bla-de open to avoid accidental closingof the blade. At this end is a pivot stud I3 to which a blade holder I4is pivoted. This blade holder also consists of a piece of sheet metaldoubled on itself to form sides I5 and it islprovided with a `notch I6in each sideto engage the springs Il of the handle. It is providedfwitla semi-circular part II at one end for the usual purpose and with a heelI8 near it for limiting the opening action of the blade holder.

An important feature of this blade holder is 55 the fact that it isprovided with a pin 2|! and also in Fig. 9 with pins 2| and 22. The pin2|! cooperates with either one of these pins, 2| or 22, if they are usedand, if not, with a solid end 23 which appears in both forms of theholder for holding the blade, as will appear. Furthermore, the sides I4of this blade holder gradually slant from a point adjacent the pin 2B toa point adjacent the back and an edge 24 from one point to the other isslanted. This edge of the blade holder on both sides is bent inwardly sothat these two edges 24 are not only slanting but they grip the blade 25throughout their length and practically throughout the length of theblade.

At the other end of the handle I it isprovided with an extension 26formed of the sheet metal of the handle on both sides. The two sides areforced together to form a thin slit 21 at right angles to the length ofthe handle between the sides. The purpose of this slit is to provide forthe conversion of an ordinary thin flexible double edged razor bladeinto two blades 25 of such shape as may be desired.

The first operation to be performed in converting a double edged razorblade 28, such as that shown in Fig. l, is to place it in this slit withthe central line between the razor blades at one end in registrationwith the edge of the slit. Now the free side or edge of this blade 23can be bent as indicated in Fig. 3 and such bending will break the bladealong the edge of the slit 2l' because of the brittleness of the steel.The blade 28 is then turned to exactly the opposite position and brokenagain at that end, which results in the production of two knife blades25 out of the single double edged razor blade 28. Now, if it is desiredto break off the end of the blade at an angle, the blade 25 is again putinto the slit 21 at such an angle as indicated in Fig. 4 and bent untilit breaks along the edge of the slit 2. This breaking is very accurateand, of course, in almost a straight line. Only a little bending isrequired, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3.

The handle is also provided with a notch 30 and when the blade 25 is inplace and turned back to the dotted line position it operates very wellas a cigar cutter.

It will be noticed that in the type of double edged blade shown in Figs.3, 4 and 5 there are two .openings 3| for receiving fastening devicesfor the razor frame and there are also four square shoulders 32 forcooperation with other parts of the razor frame. opening 33 andshoulders 34 are provided. These parts are taken advantage of to holdthe half razor blade in the holder. The blade is put into the holder inFig. for example, Vby slipping the shoulder 34 under the pin 2i) by anangular movement and then turning what appears in that figure as the topof the blade back until a portion of it engages the solid part 23. Theanchorage between the pin 28, shoulder 34 and the two parts at 23 holdsthe blade in position. The edges 2d of the blade holder have beendescribed as fitting close against the blade, thus serving more fully tohold the blade and prevent its accidental dislodgment. The blade holderis also closed at the point 29 by pressing the edges together, thusmaking the blade holder more rigid and strong.

Also there is a central In the form shown in Fig. 9 the pins 20, 2| and22 are made use of in connection with the shoulder 32 and in this casethe closed end of the holder 23 is not needed. On account of well knowncharacteristics, only the pin 20 and one other of the pins 2|, 22 or thepoint 23 is necessary to hold the blade firmly in position.

One object of bending the edges I4 inwardly so that they grip the blade25 and slanting them from a position near the handle to a position nearthe point of the blade is to render the device useful as a jack knifefor cutting and whittling wood and other soft materials. On account ofthe pressure of the edges 24 against the blade, there is no chance forthe shavings to get in Ybetween the blade and holder and furthermore,the slanting off of this edge 24 serves to clear the shavings from theknife as it is used. This shape also permits of the deeper penetrationof the point of the knife than the rest of it.

It will be seen that the blade is perfectly anchored in the holder sothat it can be used for whittling as just stated and so that it can beused for cutting harder materials and, in fact, for very rough cuttingoperations. This is practical because the holder is strong and durableand the matter of breaking or injuring the blade is of no moment.Ordinarily the blade is formed of a used safety razor blade whichotherwise would be thrown away and which, when no longer useful forshaving purposes, still has a very good edge for a jack knife or thelike.

This knife is entirely of metal. Therefore, it can be sterilized andused for minor surgical operations or, in fact, any surgical operationto which its shape and size are suited. Ordinarily, if used for thatpurpose, a new unused razor blade would be employed instead of adiscarded one. In that case also the device can be used as a razor morehandily than some of the razors on the market to assist surgeons inshaving hair from the scalp or other parts of the body preparatory toother surgical operations.

In short, the knife is of use for all purposes for which an ordinaryjack knife is employed and in many instances where a jack knife couldnot be used. It can be used for-ripping and cutting by tailors, forcutting leather, rubber and various insulating materials, cardboard ofvarious thicknesses and with many folds and, if used merely as a point,it could be used for cutting paper and the like. The uses to which itmay be put are innumerable.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do notwish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherewise than asset forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

A jack knife comprising a resilient sheet metal handle having its sidesspaced apart, a blade holder pivoted thereto near one end, a bladeremovably mounted in the blade holder, said handle having an integralportion thereof partially separated from it along a transverse line atthe end toward the blade holder to form a spring arranged at rightangles to the length of the handle, the blade holder having a projectionadapted to register with said spring when the blade holder is opened andabut against the spring, whereby the spring vwill hold the blade holderopen.

F. JULIUS QUIST.

